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Road to Derby: Uncaptured owner Oxley pursues dream

Spotlight on: John Oxley Owner John Oxley won the Kentucky Derby the second year he had a starter, with the John Ward-trained Monarchos in 2001. He did not compete again in the race until last year, when Tampa

Road to Derby: Uncaptured owner Oxley pursues dream

John Oxley spent $290,000 at Keeneland's yearling sale for Kentucky Jockey Club winner Uncaptured, one of the favorites for the Kentucky Derby off his 6-for-7 record last year.

Thoroughbred owner John Oxley won the Kentucky Derby on his second try, in 2001 with Monarchos. He did not have another horse in the race until last year. This year he has a top contender in Uncaptured.(Photo: Amy Sancetta, Associated Press)

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Owner John Oxley won the Kentucky Derby the second year he had a starter, with the John Ward-trained Monarchos in 2001. He did not compete again in the race until last year, when Tampa Bay Derby winner Prospective finished 18th.

But to the Tulsa oilman, the overarching objective is being in the hunt.

Oxley had cut way back on his yearling and 2-year-old purchases, though he remained very active on the breeding end, until hooking up with trainer Mark Casse a few years ago.

Their early success led to renewed vigor in the sales ring, including spending $290,000 at Keeneland's yearling sale for Kentucky Jockey Club winner Uncaptured, one of the favorites for the Derby off his 6-for-7 record last year.

Uncaptured — who was kept out of the Breeders' Cup after his lone defeat and instead won Churchill's Iroquois — was part of a season that saw Oxley and Casse team to win 25% of their races (52 for 206) and finish in the top three at a 58% clip.

Oxley also owns the 1-2 finishers of Tampa Bay Downs' Pasco in Dynamic Sky and his homebred Sky Commander, as well as the intriguing Northern Lion, Sky Captain and Star Contender.

"The Derby is a little bit of a distant memory, but still a vivid memory," Oxley said with a laugh. "It's a marvelous pursuit, the Derby. It's the best chapter in racing. You have the 2-year-olds and dream of what they might become. It's an exciting time, so many great races during that period."

Uncaptured's schedule was hampered by a bruised a foot following the Kentucky Jockey Club. Casse says he's doing well and is targeting Keeneland's Toyota Blue Grass, with an undetermined prep beforehand. Dynamic Sky is targeted for Saturday's Sam Davis at Tampa.

Oxley says he's never seen such a hard-worker or anybody with Casse's eye for picking out yearlings and 2-year-olds at auction.

"I think he dreams thoroughbreds when he has time to sleep," Oxley said.

It's been a dream sporting year so far for Oxley, who has become a big University of Louisville fan through his wife, Debby, who grew up in Shively and received master's degree from U of L.

The East region at a glance

The favorite: Shanghai Bobby can't be abandoned off the first defeat of his career, but stablemate Violence takes his turn on top.

Ones to watch: Itsmyluckyday, Overanalyze, Normandy Invasion.

Under the radar: Northern Lion, Majestic Hussar, Eton Blue, Orb.

Outlook: Saturday's Holy Bull not only launched Itsmyluckyday to the forefront but raised questions about some highly regarded horses in Bern Identity, Frac Daddy and Dewey Square, who finished 5-7 in the day's Derby prep.

Meanwhile, Itsmyluckyday, winner of the Jan. 1 Gulfstream Park Derby, now has put together two huge races. In fact, he's 4-for-4 in Florida on dirt.

It's much like the current college basketball season terrain, with no real standout and a lot could depend on who gets hot late. This is a year that horses who have only broken their maiden could burst through, much as unraced 2-year-old Bodemeister almost did last year when second in the Derby and Preakness.

Look for horses such as Orb and Cerro, both winners of 11/8-mile allowance races Saturday at Gulfstream, to make noise in subsequent preps.

Road to the Derby points races:

Feb. 2, Sam F. Davis (G3), 1 1/16 miles, Tampa Bay Downs

Feb. 2, Withers (G3), 1 1/16 miles, Aqueduct

Feb. 23, Fountain of Youth (G2), 1 1/16 miles, Gulfstream

Mar. 2, Gotham (G3), 1 1/16 miles, Aqueduct

Mar. 9, Tampa Bay Derby (G2), 1 1/16 miles, Tampa Bay Downs

Mar. 30, Florida Derby (G1), 1 1/8 miles, Gulfstream

Apr. 6, Wood Memorial (G1), 1 1/8 miles, Aqueduct

The champion: Shanghai Bobby

For the second time in three years, Todd Pletcher trained the Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner and unbeaten 2-year-old champion. Uncle Mo ran only three times in 2010 but won by a combined 23 lengths. Shanghai Bobby started in April and methodically reeled off five wins over four tracks, capped by a head victory in the Juvenile at Santa Anita, a race in which he appeared to tire a couple of times through the stretch.

If Uncle Mo's races took one's breath away, Shanghai Bobby is more inclined to leave his people holding their breath.

"I don't know what else you could ask a 2-year-old to do, from 4 1/2 (furlongs) to a mile and a sixteenth," Pletcher said. "His personality is such that he has a tendency to wait on his competition a little bit, so that maybe some of his wins weren't as electrifying (as Uncle Mo).

"Watching the Breeders' Cup, it looked like he was kind of rubber-legged at the head of the stretch. But in the back of my mind, I had the same feeling when he won the Track Barron in his second start. He looked tired and he found more."

Shanghai Bobby's owners include Louisvillians Jack and Laurie Wolf, founders of the Starlight Racing partnership that bought the colt and now owns him with the principles of Coolmore Stud, as well as the father-son team of Ed and Clinton Glasscock. Ed Glasscock is a longtime civic leader who has attended the Derby for more than 50 years.

"You think of the biggest days of your life, being your wedding day and the births of your children and grandchildren," said Ed Glasscock, who has never had a horse in the Derby. "The next would be winning the Kentucky Derby. The Breeders' Cup was incredible, over the top in terms of excitement. But the Derby is way beyond that."

Ranking the Todd Squad

As has become the norm, Todd Pletcher has the East Coast's deepest group of 3-year-olds. But he knows better than anyone that depth in January doesn't necessarily mean success – or even multiple entries – the first Saturday in May.

Pletcher had one of the early Derby favorites last year when Algorithms won Gulfstream's Holy Bull in late January but never ran again. Eskendereya was the 2010 favorite in April but never ran again after winning the Wood Memorial. Champion Uncle Mo was declared out of the Derby the day before the 2011 race.